Death Would Lose
by InfinityAndOne
Summary: [One-Shot] "Cal walked into reception to try and work out what the commotion was about. He froze, rooted in spot, at the site before him." What will happen when Cal and Ethan go up against the scariest power on the planet? When they face Death.


Cal walked into reception to try and work out what the commotion was about. He froze, rooted in spot, at the site before him. He saw a man, a man he knew all too well. His father. His horrible, child murdering father was stood there, with a gun held against Ethan's head, and he held Ethan in a firm grip. Ethan hadn't looked so scared since their sister was murdered right in front of their eyes. She was only 7. Ethan was 8, Cal was 10. Now, their father had come back to finish the job. One thing which made Cal confused, why string it out? He stepped forward from the crowd that had gathered. Most of the ED dare not move to intervene, but had come to see what was happening. Now, they were too scared to move, in case the trigger was pulled, and Ethan was murdered.

Cal got the attention of his father within seconds. "Hello." He greeted him, venom practically dripping from his voice. "Let my brother go."

"Caleb. Now you're here, let me finish my work." He said. Their father wanted Cal to witness the murder, just like he and Ethan had when their younger sister was killed. They were powerless to stop it.

"STOP!" Cal called. This seemed to make his father stop what he was doing. "Why?" He didn't know whether he was going to get an answer, but hoped and prayed he was going to.

"You don't get it, do you Caleb? I just don't like you. I don't like Ethan. I didn't like Amanda." Just hearing him say that made Cal even more furious, but Ethan was first to fight back.

"She was 7. You killed her, your own daughter, in front of your sons, when she was 7." Ethan stood up to him, overly aware of death waiting to claim its next victim.

"And? I've come to finish the job." He admitted without a second thought. "Yeah, I'll go back to prison, but if it means finally ridding the world of you too, then, why not?" This man was truly psychotic.

"Cal, can you please explain what is going on." Zoe asked him in an attempt to slow down whatever was going on in front of the ED.

"Meet my...father. He killed Ethan's and my sister, Amanda, when she was 7. I was 10, Ethan was 8. He's out of prison, and has come to finish the job." Cal straight away told them. There was no use trying to sweeten the news to people. That was the truth, and they deserved to know, however ludicrous is sounded.

"Okay, so you want me here to watch my brother killed, then you'll kill me?" Cal could see 3 police officers stalking towards his father, and some more positioned with guns strategically behind him. If they moved, and his father saw, Ethan would be dead. Cal had to find a way to get Ethan away from him. "Okay then. Well, how about we do a deal? I give myself up willingly, and then you kill me. Then, I'm sure Ethan will give himself up. Or, you could just kill Ethan, be arrested, and never kill me. I'll run away from here straight after you kill Ethan. You won't get your chance." Cal reasoned. Ethan looked at Cal, his eyes begging Cal to run while he still could. If Cal couldn't understand his pleas, Ethan made sure he would.

"Cal, seriously. Just run. If he killing me means you escape and he's arrested, then go." Ethan told him. Those watching on started to realise how much the brothers went through when they were younger, and how much they're willing to stick up for each other.

"Ethan! Never going to happen!" Cal laughed in spite of everything, and Ethan smiled back. There was no harm in smiling, especially if he was going to die.

The gun was brought away from Ethan's head, and found a new place to point towards. Cal's head. However, his father's hold on Ethan was as strong as ever. Ethan knew, at the right moment, he could squirm out of it. When was the right moment? He didn't know.

Cal knew that it was now or never. If he and Ethan didn't choose their moments precisely, at least one of them would be claimed by death.

_He shut his eyes, trying to hold back a tear that had formed in his eye. _

_A split second later, he opened them again, only to feel the tear escape and roll down his cheek, onto the floor, as he looked towards a barrel of a gun._

"Okay then, go ahead, but let me say one thing." Cal said to his father, who nodded. Everyone was allowed final words; it was just unfortunate that Amanda's was a scream. "I hope you rot in jail!" Cal shouted at his father. He saw the police advance on him and grab him. Cal was frozen to the spot. The gun moved. Ethan tried to get out of his father's grip.

BANG

A bullet left the gun and headed straight for Ethan. He didn't have enough time to escape before the bullet hit him. The police restrained their father. It was too late. It was all too late.

Ethan Hardy was dead.

"NO!" Cal screamed as he ran over to his brother, who lay, still on the floor, blood pooling round him. Dead. Gasps and cries were heard from their colleagues. Cal couldn't care less. He didn't care that his father had been arrested. He didn't care that his colleagues were crying. He didn't care about the patients who had witnessed the whole thing.

He cared for his brother.

He cared for his only family.

He cared for the man that lay in front of him.

He cared for Ethan.

He lifted Ethan's prone figure into his lap as he knelt down by him. Cal saw the hint of a smile still etched on his younger brother's face. The smile that he showed in spite of everything that happened. Cal sobbed into his brother's hair, unwilling to let him go. Death had snatched him away. Death had taken his little brother.

Cal felt arms around his. Someone was telling him to let Ethan go. He didn't want to. He didn't want to lose him. He had to, though. He had to leave Ethan. He let the arms guide him to the staffroom as he took one last look towards his brother, smiling at Ethan's smile, then remembering he was never going to see that smile again. He had lost Ethan. He felt broken inside. How was he meant to say good bye to his younger brother. He hoped and prayed that Ethan would look down upon him. That Ethan would tell Cal everything would be okay. That Ethan could come back, if only for a moment, so Cal could look Ethan in his eyes, and Ethan could look back. They would smile, smile with each other. Cal wished he could turn back time. To be with his brother. To make up for everything. All the arguments, all the fights. He would hold Ethan in his arms. He would do anything, anything to be with his brother. To hear Ethan's voice again, to hear his laughter. How do you say good bye, though? How do you say good bye?

Cal was vaguely aware of someone handing him a cup of tea. He sipped it gratefully before his tear filled eyes focused on someone's face. Zoe was sat next to him, looking like she had been crying too. He looked around the room. A few more of their colleagues were there too. All in silence. All thinking about Ethan.

Cal was completely dazed. He'd never felt so lost in all of his life. Knowing Ethan would never be at the end of a telephone call, knowing he would never be there to help Cal when he needed him hurt Cal more. Cal allowed himself to be guided somewhere. He didn't care where he was going. He just didn't care. Death had snatched away his only family. Cal was lost.

"Here." Zoe handed Cal a small beer which Cal stared at for a couple of seconds before realising what was in front of him.

"Thanks, Zoe." He said, before staring down at it. He looked into it. A glass, filled with something that can bring both joy and sorrow. As the glass drains, the more your emotions change, yet, the less you can have in one moment. So why have the entire glass to feel as much pleasure or sadness as it gives you in one moment, rather than savour it, and let the joy rush over you slowly. Cal thought about this, savouring all the memories he had with Ethan. Repeating them in his head, running through the little details, making his joy carry on for just a little bit longer, making the glass last longer.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by something Max said. Something he was grateful for. Max raised his glass, "To Ethan." He proposed. The rest of their colleagues mirrored this toast, even Cal, despite how hoarse his voice sounded, and they all sipped their glasses for him, in memory of the now deceased doctor, colleague, friend, and brother.

The week after Ethan's death dragged by with every second. Cal had taken to sitting in the ED staffroom. He wasn't allowed to work. Connie didn't think he was up to it. Cal couldn't concentrate on anything anyway. He just needed to be in the ED. With his friends, where Ethan loved being, and where he died. For this reason, Cal didn't know whether that was the excuse he had for not being where he should be.

He had trudged into the ED on the morning, one week after Ethan's death. He hadn't forgotten that he had half an hour until Ethan's funeral started, but he couldn't bring himself to go. To say good bye, officially, to his only family, to his brother, to Ethan, he just didn't want to. The longer he dragged his good bye out, the less real it seemed. His heart knew he was gone. His head knew too. Cal knew his brother was gone; he just didn't want it to be true.

"Cal, you should be there." Rita had appeared behind him. The funeral was due to start 15 minutes from then, and she knew this was the one place Cal would be. "I'll take you." She offered. Cal looked at her, refusing to look in her eyes.

"I can't go, Rita." He admitted, head down, feeling defeated by grief.

"Why not, Cal? He's your brother. He'd want you to be there, you know." She consoled him. Cal has barely spoken two words since the death of his brother, so she was shocked to hear him open up.

"If I go, it makes it real. If I go, it means I really have lost him. My only family, gone." He told the nurse who had taken a seat beside him.

"We're your family, Cal. Even Connie!" Rita laughed slightly, trying to brighten up the mood. Cal looked up at her, smiling back. He nodded his head and allowed Rita to lead him towards her car.

He stared out of the window for the entire journey. Looking at the trees, the bushes, the flowers. Everything seemed so pretty, so perfect in this moment. He didn't want it to lose that special feel about it. The feeling that nothing else mattered.

He allowed Rita, once again, to lead him. She sat him down in the church as she took a seat after. They had just made it in time. Everyone who had attended looked sad, but not as broken as Cal looked. He felt in his pocket as he sat next to Zoe. He pulled out a scrunched up piece of paper with messy writing written on it. It was barely legible to anyone. Anyone but Cal and Ethan.

Cal heard his name. This was it, him saying good bye properly, as he walked up, in front of everyone, mentally preparing himself.

Cal stood there, ready to read out the mess of writing on a scrunched up piece of paper. He took a deep breath in, and prepared himself. "Ethan...er... Ethan once said something to me. Knowing Ethan, it was probably the funniest things he has ever said." Cal started, as he heard a few laughs in the background. "He told me, 'Don't knock on Death's door. Ring the bell and run, he hates that.' Well, Ethan, Death waited for you to ring that bell. He stopped you running, mate. Next time, chose somewhere else to play knock down ginger, yeah?" He laughed slightly, as did many of the people listening. It was then Cal looked out towards everyone. No family, there was none of that left. Just friends. The best family he and Ethan had.

_He shut his eyes, trying to hold back a tear that formed in his eye._

_A split second later, he opened them again, only to feel the tear escape and roll down his cheek, onto the floor, as he looked towards a barrel of a gun._

He looked towards a barrel of a gun, at Ethan's funeral? Hold on...this wasn't a funeral, he was still in reception. He saw Ethan being held by his father while a gun was pointed at his own head. He was back a week ago.

Looks like death gave him a second chance.

A second chance to save his brother.

And this time, Death would lose.

"Okay then, go ahead, but let me say one thing." Cal said to his father, who nodded. Everyone was allowed final words; it was just unfortunate that Amanda's was a scream. Cal knew it was now or never. "I hope you rot in jail!" Cal shouted at his father. He saw the police advance on him and grab him. Cal ran to the gun which hastily made its way over to Ethan. He grabbed it from his father's hand and tossed it on the floor. Ethan squirmed out of his grip and ran to Cal. Their father fought against the arms restraining him, kicking himself for how stupid he had been, he'd fallen into a trap.

He was dragged away, quite literally kicking and screaming. Ethan threw his arms around Cal, and Cal embraced him back, not caring who saw. "You know what?" Ethan spoke into his brother's shoulder. Cal pulled Ethan away and looked him in the eyes while Ethan continued. "I think death's stopped chasing us."

And, he was right. Death did not want to claim Ethan Hardy and Caleb Knight. Their time would come, as would everyone's, but for now, Death let them be.

* * *

**You didn't think I was actually going to kill Ethan, did you?**

**Yeah, it is a slightly confusing story, but I had two ways it would go, that I wanted to write. Either, Ethan dies, or, they both survive. Then, I thought, let's personify Death. It would probably make for a better story. And then...well...this is the result.**

**I hope you like this, and please review telling me what you thought of this story!**


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